Chapter 969: Lobbying for Alliance

As for those rouge and powder items that remained, it was mostly because the boxes were engraved with the words "Made in the Great Qing Inner Palace" or "For Imperial Use by Wenzhuang." "Wenzhuang" was the traveling palace of the Qing Nation's monarch, and goods with these engravings could not be circulated in the market. Commissioner Wu had already prepared for the loss of the three ships, and now that he heard the ships were back, he felt fortunate in his heart.

The one surnamed He showed mercy.

That's right, even if he took these three ships, it wouldn't be easy to use them in the Yangshan waters and Blade Harbor. Even if he painted over the marks on the ships, old sailors had poisonous eyes and would know at a glance that they were Commissioner Wu's ships.

Since that was the case, He Lingchuan simply returned the ships to Commissioner Wu after the fact, only taking the cargo as punishment, leaving room for both sides to maneuver. This was giving a stick and then a sweet date, both a show of goodwill and a warning:

He wanted the ships to sink, and they sank; he wanted the ships to float, and they floated.

As long as Commissioner Wu's ships wanted to leave the port, as long as Commissioner Wu wanted to earn this money, he should cooperate well with the Yangshan Archipelago.

If everyone is at peace, everyone has money to make.

What does a warning mean? It means telling a smart person: stop being stubborn, step back, step back, otherwise I will continue to deal with you, I have plenty of tricks!

The premise is that it's a smart person.

Commissioner Wu relaxed and suddenly remembered something, asking Assistant Prefect Zhao urgently: "Have the memorial and the letter been sent out?"

"I was just about to hand them to the messenger."

"Bring them here."

Assistant Prefect Zhao found them, and Commissioner Wu snatched them away and tore them up.

Assistant Prefect Zhao: "..."

Commissioner Wu sat down, dipped his brush in ink, and rewrote the memorial and the secret letter, then sealed them and handed them to Assistant Prefect Zhao: "Send them out."

"Yes." Assistant Prefect Zhao was confused but didn't dare to ask, took them, and walked out.

Commissioner Wu pressed his temples and muttered: "Almost made a fool of myself."

The letter he rewrote was much the same as the original, only he deleted the content related to "Yin-Serpents suspected of being controlled by the Yangshan Archipelago," reporting the matter straightforwardly.

He had been so angry before that he had actually written down his inner thoughts, but after coming to his senses, he hurriedly deleted them.

Reporting such things upward had no benefit at all. The Qing royal court and Imperial Consort Yu would at most tell him to find a way to solve it, and the ball would be kicked back to him, and he would have to handle it then.

Why would he make things difficult for himself?

￥￥￥￥￥

The sunset glow shone into the jungle of Black Page Island.

The shack-like supply station had long been dismantled, replaced by neat rows of bamboo houses and wooden houses.

Behind the houses were rows of oil-pressing workshops and warehouses.

The farm workers finished their day's toil, went to the new small shop to buy a corner of thin wine, and then a small bag of salted roasted peanuts, and they could enjoy themselves for half the night.

After work, the beach was full of people.

At this time, more than a dozen burly men emerged from behind, four or five of whom had several braids at the back of their heads.

Without them needing to speak, others had already tactfully walked away, giving up the best spots.

The two leading men sat down on a section of a long round log. The young man with a scar on his face raised a wine gourd and handed it over: "Uncle, the guard team starts selecting people tomorrow; I heard many are signing up."

The older man turned his head and gestured to the crowd on the beach: "They are all this kind of stuff, not worth worrying about."

"I found out that Island Master He subdued three groups of pirates in the Yangshan Archipelago, at least five hundred people, and they are also participating in the guard team selection with us tomorrow."

The older man picked up the wine gourd, took a big gulp, and said in a rough voice: "Pirates are all a mob; how much loyalty can they have? Afeng, you wouldn't want to back out, would you?"

Afeng looked to the west: "I think we should be cautious. At least we should find out the strength of this archipelago."

The sunset is infinitely good, but it's near dusk.

Sigh, has their clan also reached the twilight years? "Uncle, we can't afford to make mistakes."

"Being timid, how can you accomplish anything?" His uncle scoffed and spat on the sandy ground. "The Bailong people need a safe stronghold, and this place is very suitable!"

Far from the mainland but with resources, able to produce grain, and the place is big enough to accommodate their branch.

At this time, someone walked over here, also dressed as a laborer.

Several burly men were broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, looking like they were not to be trifled with, but they didn't stop him from approaching.

This person bowed to the two men and sat on the ground: "Brother Wanqi, give me a drink?"

The older man threw a wine gourd to him: "Old Yu, you are not on the island today?"

"Ah, I went to help on Suoding Island. There are more and more guests there, not enough hands, and the wages are higher." Old Yu shook his head and sighed. "Working hard to death every day, the money earned is not enough to buy two peanuts."

The young man threw half a bag of peanuts over: "Here."

When they were recruited, this Old Yu was already working on the island. He was a native of Suoding Island and knew these islands very well, providing the uncle and nephew with quite a few conveniences.

Old Yu also intentionally curried favor with them, spoke nicely, and after going back and forth, the two sides became familiar.

"Afeng is a good person." Old Yu picked up a peanut and asked the uncle and nephew: "Are you joining the guard team?"

"Yes." Everyone knows that guard team members get more money.

"Your subordinates are all burly men; I guess you will join too." Old Yu smiled. "It's really luxurious for Bailong people to be guards."

The uncle and nephew didn't say a word.

For their status, these words were not a compliment.

Old Yu looked left and right and whispered: "You are all heroes; do you want to be guards for that Island Master He for the rest of your lives?"

"Is this something you should say?" Wanqi Feng immediately felt something was wrong. An old farmer on a sea island, why bother with this? "Who are you?"

The two burly men behind also stepped forward, surrounding Old Yu in the middle.

He hurriedly waved his hands: "Don't do it, don't do it, I'm just a messenger!"

The older man sneered: "Messenger? You approached us these days just to pass a message?"

"You are Wanqi Song; if I didn't get close to you first, how could you look at me straight?"

"Interesting." Wanqi Song took a gulp of wine himself. "Speak, who sent you?"

"My master's surname is Lu; knowing that Mr. Wanqi came to Blade Harbor, he sent me to express his condolences."

"Lu?" Wanqi Song was stunned. "The Lu family of the Baili Lord?"

"Exactly."

Wanqi Feng rushed to ask: "When did your master know?"

"Some time ago." Old Yu said. "The Ya Nation oppressed the Bailong people, and the clan leader's son, Wanqi Tong, couldn't tolerate you, so you brought these clansmen south. It just so happened that the Yangshan Archipelago was recruiting people on a large scale, so you came."

"However, you came to this island, do you really want to be guards for others?"

Wanqi Song's eyes revealed a murderous look: "If you have something to say, say it! If you beat around the bush again, I'll throw you into the sea."

Old Yu felt a chill in his heart from being stared at by him, secretly thinking these Bailong people are really barbaric: "The island master surnamed He used some dishonorable means to get his hands on the Yangshan Archipelago. My master's family is very angry, but they don't want to make a big move."

Wanqi Feng pointed at him with a smile: "I heard that you Lu family sold this archipelago that no one wanted, and thought you took advantage. Didn't expect Island Master He to develop it well, and now the miasma has faded, and guests have come."

Old Yu was a little embarrassed: "The fading of the miasma is a natural problem and has nothing to do with Island Master He; he is just lucky."

Wanqi Song snorted: "In other words, the Baili wants to go back on their word?"

This is the rhythm of killing the conversation, Old Yu secretly complained, but on the surface, he had to keep smiling: "My master hopes to cooperate with the Bailong people."

Wanqi Feng mocked: "What a joke, you were all tricked by others..."

Wanqi Song raised his hand to interrupt his words: "How to cooperate?"

"The one surnamed He just took the Yangshan Archipelago and his footing is unstable, and the guard team is uneven; this should be the easiest time to deal with." Seeing these Bailong people are straightforward, Old Yu simply spoke openly. "You uncle and nephew don't want to be subordinates of the clan leader's son, so why come here to be guards for a young kid? I think you and my master should hit it off."

Simply put, these Bailong people coming to the island was malicious in the first place. The one surnamed He thought he was lucky to recruit so many powerful guards, but didn't know they were all life-takers! "The one surnamed Lu wants to be decent himself and let us do the killing?" Wanqi Feng sneered on the side. "He signed an agreement; if he goes back on it, his eating style is too ugly. Besides, even if we take down Island Master He, how do we know the Baili won't be the oriole behind?"

Old Yu said sternly: "If you two are worried, the Lu family can sign an agreement with you. As long as you take down He Lingchuan, the Bailong people will have money if they want money, and land if they want land!"

He immediately added: "You brought people away, isn't it because you are worried about having nowhere to stay? Coming to the Yangshan Archipelago is just to find a place to live. The Lu family can give you all of this."

"Island Master He treats you as guards, but the Lu family knows you are heroes." Old Yu smiled. "Heroes should have the treatment of heroes."

Wanqi Song pondered.

Old Yu added: "The hundreds of men you brought are all elites and will definitely be selected for the guard team. The Yangshan Archipelago won't be at ease and will break up the Bailong people and send them to various islands for duty. You won't have much time to gather later; furthermore, the guards around Island Master He will be recruited more and more, so you can't be too late if you want to make a move."

Wanqi Feng reminded his uncle: "So the danger is all borne by us, and the benefits are all reaped by the Lu family?"

"Benefits? That Island Master He is wealthy, buying islands and setting up such a big stall without blinking. You say, how much money does he have?" Old Yu smiled. "My master conservatively estimates that Island Master He's net worth is at least over a million. If you take him down, isn't it digging up a gold mine and silver mountain? From then on, do you still need to worry about money?"

A net worth of over a million? The Wanqi uncle and nephew looked at each other. Why are the Bailong people turbulent and destitute, with nowhere to settle? In the final analysis, it's a lack of money; in chaotic times, a lack of money is the most fatal. If they catch this big fat sheep surnamed He, the whole clan will eat and drink well, and they won't need to worry about money for a long time.

"As for the money, grain, weapons, and intelligence for the operation, we can provide them. By the way, my master said that there will be Emperor Flowing Pulp in a few days, and the archipelago will definitely be in chaos. Do you want to seize this opportunity?" Old Yu placed a cloth bag on the ground. "Wealth and honor are sought in danger. If you don't want to take risks, you have to be guards for others for the rest of your lives."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 970 =====